Glitch

by Brenda Pandos

  His eyes wrinkled up again. “He told you about Stygos?”

  “What?” I blinked in surprise. “What the hell is Stygos?”

  He pointed at the horizon and I turned to stare at the low lying fog. Then dark spires appeared from the clouds and smoke rose from twin towers. A city on the water. Shame then disappointment flooded me when his intentions hit. He wasn’t here to fight for me. He wanted to show me an island.

  “Here.” He handed me the binoculars. “Look for yourself.”

  More smoke stacks and buildings with lit windows proved people lived on the island.

  “Who is it?”

  “The EA,” Kaden said grimly. “It’s a slave camp. They’re mining precious metals and ore.”

  I lowered the binoculars. “A slave camp?”

  He bowed his head. “Yes.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “We’ve rescued people from there, Abby.” He worked his jaw.

  “I don’t understand.” I took up the binoculars again. “Why would they need metals and ore?”

  “Most likely for all their gadgets.”

  I frowned. “That’s not funny.”

  “I’m not joking. Where do you think the parts for your computers and watches come from?”

  I looked away. I’d assumed the EA manufactured them in their buildings. “The EA has a surplus.”

  “Well, the surplus is gone, so….”

  I studied the factory again looking for confirmation he told the truth. The buildings were too far away to see anything of substance besides the huge boats anchored against a wall like the one we lived behind. “And you know for sure it’s the EA.”

  He pulled lightly on my elbow, directing my gaze somewhere else. Blue and white Brighton flags flew in the wind.

  I sucked in a breath. “Oh my…”

  “Those ships carry in loads of people, people that don’t ever leave,” he said grimly.

  “How did you find this place?”

  “The Elders had contemplated occupying it at one point right after the virus wiped out civilization, but that location would make it too hard to stay undetected. Then the EA showed up and took it, but we’d established the homestead nearby and didn’t want to move people again since the location was ideal with supplies and electricity. So we watch them closely and rescue anyone who’s able to escape.”

  My heart grew heavy thinking of what could be happening on that island. Kaden had known all along that my assumptions of where criminals were banished to were wrong. He’d hinted after he’d taken me, but I wouldn’t believe him.

  As if reading my mind, Kaden took my hand.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked softly. “You know… before.”

  He sighed. “I didn’t think you’d believe me without proof.”

  I leaned into his side. The memory of the disappearance of our neighbors across the street when I was seven tickled my mind. They refused to wear DOD watches when they first came out. Later, Dad had said they’d moved, but I’d always wondered why Beth, their daughter, never contacted me online or attended net school after that. Were they taken away? Could they be at Stygos?

  “This is why I don’t want you to go back,” Kaden whispered as he squeezed my hand. “I don’t want you to end up there.”

  I swallowed down my terror. Were there more people convicted than I’d suspected? Was this why the EA wanted me? Why future me chose to run to begin with? Had I found out the truth and threatened to expose them?

  “I don’t either,” I said selfishly. But the nagging dread continued to dig into my gut. The deception behind the EA was far bigger than just lying about the wild lands. We’d been segregated and I couldn’t ignore that fact anymore. Maybe this was the reason why I became a rebel.

  A woman’s moan stole through the forest and I swiveled around, braced for the worst. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah.” Instead of moving to protect me, Kaden dropped my hand and ran toward the noise.

  “Wait,” I cried as he disappeared into the brush.

  I swallowed hard, my feet unwilling to move. “Kaden, it’s a zombie!” My heart pounded as I tried to listen for him over the crashing waves. “Please come back!”

  The woman moaned one more time, then stopped.

  Against my better judgment, I crept into the brush. Picking up a stick, I rounded a giant granite boulder and stopped. Kaden was stooped over a woman lying on the grass. Blood seeped out of his fingers as he pressed a wound on her thigh.

  “It’ll be okay,” he kept saying. “I’ve got you.”

  “Kaden,” the woman moaned, sounding a lot like my mother. “We have to warn Abigail.”

  “Mom?” I asked, moving forward.

  She turned to me and her light-brown hair fell from her face. Our eyes locked and I held my breath. She was here. Finally. Me. Future me. My Complement.

  She reached out her hand to me and I dropped to my knees, unable to find the words to speak.

  “I have to get the bullet out.” Kaden held the wound with one hand and dug around in his backpack with the other. He took out a white medicine kit

  “I know,” she said, grimacing. “Just do it quick, before I jump again.”

  “Jump again?” I listened and didn’t recognize my voice, the words coming out strangled and weak. She couldn’t jump, not yet. I had so many questions.

  “Yes,” her eyes met mine, filled with understanding and fear.

  My body trembled. We’d finally had the moment I’d been wanting since my birthday. And now she’d jump, or worse, I’d watch her die. Tears filled my eyes.

  Compassion lit her face. “Abby, Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. What I’ve put you through,” she mumbled, her eyes slipping shut.

  “Distract her,” Kaden hissed to me as he opened the kit.

  “Is she dying?”

  “No, just help me.” He grit his teeth.

  I stood, still terrified. My legs wobbled with the rush of excitement mixed with terror. Sweat drenched her forehead and my heart ached to see her in pain. But even still, she looked so brave and wasn’t even crying. I blinked a few times. None of it felt real.

  “You have to stop him.” Her face tightened and she let out a grunt as Kaden dug around in her wound.

  “Hold still.”

  Wooziness overcame me and pressed my closed hands to my lips.

  “Abby,” she said breathless. “Please come here. This is important. I need you to listen.” I tiptoed forward and peered into my Complement’s beautiful, radiant face. Now I finally understood why Kaden cared so much for her—she was a warrior, a true leader of the rebels. She was strong, and rugged, and brave, just like Lana. So unlike me. “You have to stop him.” Her eyes briefly flickered to Kaden and sadness filled her eyes.

  I leaned forward. “Just hold still and breathe through the pain. He’s almost finished.”

  “No!” She arched her back and clawed at the ground with her nails. “I’m talking about Declan. He knows too much. He’s the source. Destroy his office. Anywhere he might have kept the secrets.” She yelped out again and convulsed. “Kill him if you have to.”

  “She’s moving too much,” Kaden grunted.

  Terrified, I knelt down and reached for her shoulders to hold her down. An electrical zap shocked my fingertips. My Complement’s eyes flew open. “Please,” she moaned. Then she fizzled out. Sparks like the ones in the tree house lit the air where her body once was.

  “No,” I screamed, lunging forward, grasping at the empty air. “No, come back!”

  Kaden let out a loud sigh. In his hand was a bloody bullet pinched in a pair of long tweezers. “I got it.”

  I stared at him, mouth agape.

  “Who’s Declan?” he asked.

  My body slumped as my arms went limp. “He’s the Vice President of the EA.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Before I could stop him, Kaden bolted from his spot and ran toward the horses.

  “Wait,” I called out
. “We need to talk about this first.”

  He slowed. “We don’t have time.”

  That was an understatement. I stared at the grooves in the ground where her fingers just were, wishing for another minute.

  Dammit!

  “Are you coming?”

  My head snapped up. I needed clarification. I needed something more concrete that just a plea for help. Sure, I wanted to do what my Complement had asked, but this? Was she serious? With all the cameras, we’d be caught for sure. This was impossible.

  “I need to think about this.” I got to my feet and practically stumbled forward from being too lightheaded. We needed a plan. We needed help.

  “We can think about it while we ride.”

  “Ride?” I grabbed my knees to catch my breath. “You seriously don’t believe she wants us to kill the Vice President!”

  “You won’t,” he called over his shoulder. “But I will if I have to.”

  His enthusiasm frightened me, but my Complement’s pleas kept cycling through my brain. She wasn’t asking for Kaden’s help. She was asking me. But how could she expect me to kill someone? The fear in her eyes said way more than her words and I sensed she didn’t want Kaden anywhere near Brighton.

  “Stop!” I called out of breath. “I’m not leaving without a plan!”

  “We don’t have time.” Once reaching the horses, he grabbed Cactus’ reins and turned to me for a moment, his face red. “She needs Declan and his office taken out. Period.”

  “I get that, but why not go back and get a group together. Plan this all out.”

  Kaden exhaled hard and maneuvered the horse around. “We don’t need to get anyone else involved; they’ll just get in the way. She appeared because she needs our help, and Declan is a problem. It’s the only way to get rid of him in the future, too.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “If he dies here, he dies in the future, too. That’s why I kidnapped you. Your Complement said if you died now, she’d die, too.” His eyes lost focus for a beat, his chest rising and falling. “The EA wasn’t just going to use you as bait. Once they got what they wanted, there was nothing stopping them from killing you, which would kill her… and erase our kids.”

  My legs swayed under me. “K-kids?”

  Kaden paused and he swallowed hard. “Maybe Declan found a new way to threaten our family. We have to stop him.”

  I couldn’t speak. Time jumping had completely exploded my expectations of family and loyalty, completely without my input or consent. My Complement had decided my future for me, shoving me toward something I wasn’t ready to be yet. But the blood staining my hands reminded me how real this all was. Future-me needed me, and if I wanted to help my parallel family, I needed to do what she asked. And I sure as heck wasn’t going to let Kaden go in my place and be killed over my cowardice.

  “Not you,” I said indignantly. “You’re not the one she wanted to do it. She asked me. It’s supposed to be me.”

  Kaden flexed his jaw and raised a brow. “You really want to do this? Alone?”

  No. “Yes.”

  He blew out a breath. “Abby, this isn’t a joke. You can’t back out.”

  “I know.” I lifted my chest and sucked in the air. Landon would know the EA’s security system. Together with Elle we could definitely destroy his office; that was if I could get over the wall. With the cameras, though, Kaden couldn’t come with me. “I have friends that’ll help me.”

  “Friends like… Landon?”

  My eyes widened. “Yes, Landon. He’s my best friend’s brother.”

  Kaden’s fists balled at his sides. “No. I don’t trust him.”

  “You don’t know him.” I cocked my head to the side. “And I can’t even believe you remember his name.”

  His eyes swung to mine. “You’ve mentioned him a few times…”

  “This is gratitude, considering you still have a secret girlfriend I’ve never met. And you knew this entire time we have kids and Stygos and you didn’t tell me.”

  “Not yet, we don’t. And I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “Don’t you dare lie to me.” I pointed at his face. “I know about you and… Jewels.” Her name felt disgusting on my tongue.

  His eyebrows shot up and then he chuckled. “Jewels?”

  “Yes, and don’t deny it.”

  His lip curled. “I think Jewels would be very insulted at your accusation, considering she’s a Sasquatch and has a mate.”

  My mouth flew open, then snapped shut. I turned away as heat rose all the way to my ears. Of all the assumptions. I wanted to die.

  “But that’s beside the point.” He cleared his throat. “There’s no way you’re doing this alone. You can barely take care of yourself, let alone—” he spoke through gritted teeth, “—kill someone.”

  “Don’t you think I know what’s involved? Brighton is my home.” I faced him and puffed out my chest to bolster my bravery. “I see your disappointment every time you look at me. That I’m just some spoiled Brighton girl who can’t handle anything. Now that I’m finally stepping up, you won’t let me? Believe it or not, I’ve been taking care of myself this entire time.”

  He snapped out a laugh. “From what I’ve heard, the guys have been doing all your chores for you.”

  “Oh really?” A tingle swept across my back as my heart raced. “Did you find that out before or after you told them hands off of me.”

  Kaden’s eyes slotted. “That was for your own good, which after what I saw this morning, I can see why they’re confused.”

  I sucked in a breath. So he had seen me in the lagoon after all. “Nice that no one told me about the hot spring.”

  “I’m sure with your poison oak, a hot spring wouldn’t have been the best idea… but if you would have asked, or waited until tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are for the ladies, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, for the men. Sunday we let the pools rest.”

  I turned away from him. Things were going from bad to worse. “Well, you have no right to claim me as yours when I’m not.”

  He moved closer to me and I backed up.

  “You’re right,” he said, his voice softer. “But I won’t stand by and watch them fight over you.”

  “But you’d let your brother have me if I wanted.” I leveled him with a glare.

  Kaden exhaled hard and shook his head, the softness evaporated. “This isn’t important right now. We need to go.”

  “No, we need to talk about this.” I moved between him and Cactus. “You say one thing, yet you do another. You’re jealous of anyone who pays attention to me, yet you’ll stand by and let your brother pursue me. I don’t get it. Do you want me, or not?”

  His chest rose and fell as he looked at me, really looked at me, and I wanted to melt into my shoes from the longing in his eyes.

  “Yes,” he whispered and grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. He hungrily pressed his lips to mine and I gasped. Startled and surprised, my head told me I should fight him off, but my lips had other ideas and I wove my hands in his satiny hair and buried my fingertips. His tongue searched my mouth, soft and warm, and all I wanted was this… him… us. My soul sung under his touch. I’d never felt so alive or complete in my life.

  A familiar groan startled our lips apart.

  “Memphis,” Kaden said quickly as he broke from me and gained composure.

  Memphis’ eyes darted between us and sadness crept across his face. Guilt surfaced. It was one thing to be upfront and tell someone you didn’t have feelings for them, but to see them kissing someone else… their brother. I could imagine his hurt.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  Memphis’ eyes found me and he smiled—emptiness lingering. “Ah. No big deal, Sugar.” He hid the basket behind his back. “Uh… the guys needed the horses, so…”

  He cracked another fake smile and turned to leave. I moved forward to follow. Even though Memphis had been super obno
xious in the lagoon, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Kaden caught my hand and stopped me, pulling me close again.

  My shoulders slumped as he squeezed me, nuzzling his nose in my hair. “Give him his space.”

  I looked down, confused as hell. This kiss confirmed what I’d been afraid to admit this entire time. I did have feelings for Kaden, strong feelings, and I couldn’t ignore them any longer.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “Follow me,” Kaden said after we’d climbed onto the horses, but he didn’t ride in the direction of the farmhouse.

  “Wait!” I called out.

  Kaden slowed, glancing quickly over his shoulder beyond me as if someone were following, but said nothing. His kiss had completely flipped my head, temporarily making me forget my quest. We still needed a plan.

  I nudged Prince’s ribs to catch up. “Where are you going?”

  He hesitated. “I need to get some supplies first, before we…” He eyed my frown warily. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

  I clenched my jaw. Did he forget everything I’d just said? My Complement insisted I do this. Not to mention we’d be in way over our heads and this was very dangerous. We needed backup, but he wasn’t thinking rationally.

  “Of course I’m going.” I kept my voice firm.

  He nodded. “Great. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  His kicked his heels and Cactus took off under him in a run before I could say anything further. Prince, exhausted from earlier, fancied himself with a patch of grass.

  “Yeah, just great,” I mumbled under my breath and slid off the horse. Off to get killed with my future husband, just what I wanted for a prenuptial get-to-know-you adventure.

  I opened my pack and pulled out my damp clothes from earlier and laid them out to dry. Kaden most likely wouldn’t think to pick me up something for the trip and this dress wasn’t going to cut it.

  “Abby?”

  Startled, I swiveled around, hoping Kaden had changed his mind. Memphis stood sheepishly at the tree line.

  “Hey.” I couldn’t stop my shoulders from sliding downward. This definitely wasn’t a good time to rehash what he saw or define my relationship with his brother.